Surgical strikes and after

Indian Army conducts surgical strikes. The Government thumps its chest. The media debates
that this is the way to respond. The media channels compete debating this issue and try to
increase their TRP ratings. Discussions get carried out on how skillfully the surgical strikes were
carried out and comparisons made with similar strikes by Israel and United States. The urban
middle class gets elevated and gossip in their four walls on this achievement. The war hawks
argue that this should have been done long back. They maintain that Indians should just go out
and kill.

The jingoism is on the air. In this jingoistic atmosphere, reason has lost its sense. If you argue
against the war mongering, you will be immediately branded as anti-national. The monsoon
clouds are slowly giving way to war clouds. The war clouds have the potential to endanger
everyone. Unlike a monsoon cloud, where destruction due to heavy rains are nature created, a
war due to war cloud is a human error. This war cloud widens an already existing artificial
political division. Cultural and human similarities between India and Pakistan lose their meaning
in this division.

In the jingoistic atmosphere constant thirst for war only grows. Strategic analysts and war
hawks on both sides of the border become active. The right wings on both sides raise the
jingoistic passions. Kashmir, a land sandwiched between both the countries yet once again goes
into the background. Their issue once again becomes an Indo-Pak issue.

The heightened atmosphere provides yet another opportunity to the political elite to deviate
people from the real issues concerning the people. The raising prices, the unemployment, the
poverty, issues of justice, issues of food shelter and clothing become meaningless. The jingoism
becomes the basis for creating a vote bank for upcoming elections to a large Indian state.

About the Author: T. Navin works with an NGO. He did his M.Phil from Jawaharlal Nehru
University.